Number of Fla. traffic deaths continues to drop

MIAMI — State officials say the number of traffic deaths in Florida has continued to drop.

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that through Monday there were 2,312 traffic deaths in Florida, compared with 2,444 in 2010.

Officials say the numbers have dropped every year since 2005, when 3,533 traffic deaths were recorded.

Capt. Mark Brown of the Florida Highway Patrol tells The Miami Herald that safer car designs and tougher traffic laws that allow Florida police to pull over motorists who aren’t wearing seatbelts have contributed to the declining numbers of deaths.

Brown says advertising campaigns discouraging drunk driving and more enforcement programs, including checkpoints, also have led to fewer deaths caused by drunk driving.